Early that morning, Lu Luanli got up bright and early, took her iron cup and a willow twig, and went to wash by the well in the courtyard.
Looking languid, she yawned and brushed her teeth at a leisurely pace.
Just then, she saw Hu Lai, with his drooping mustache, swagger in through the courtyard gate.
The men's and women's courtyards in the Disciples' Quarters were separate, and neither side could enter the other's courtyard.
Hu Lai and his brother Hu Kan were exceptions, however.
The two knew their way around the women's courtyard and were familiar faces there.
Not only did the girls in the courtyard show no wariness toward him, they even greeted him with easy familiarity.
That was simply because the brothers knew their boundaries, never let their eyes wander, and occasionally brought them news from outside to relieve their boredom.
Lu Luanli paid no attention at first, but just as she was nearly finished washing up, she heard Hu Lai standing nearby, spouting a stream of tall tales.
A dozen or so girls had gathered around him, listening intently.
"Have you heard? Junior Brother Chu went to the South Street Black Market yesterday and fought three matches in the Life-and-Death Arena!"
"You haven't? You've only been paying attention to that great fire in the east of the city last night? What was there to care about? It was just the Long Household's warehouse getting burned down by the Bloodwind Bandits."
"What Junior Brother Chu went through in Ancient Market Town yesterday-that was a true legend. You have no idea. Long Heng, the Long Household's eldest young master, brought men to seek revenge and cornered him at the South Street Temple Fair. The two sides fought in the Life-and-Death Arena according to the fair's rules-"
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